


Liminal Thoughts

by whimsicallyaesthetic



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, bruh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:00:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18116630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicallyaesthetic/pseuds/whimsicallyaesthetic
Summary: Yugi has always been accustomed to doing things by himself. One day his body and life is invaded by a seemingly malevolent force. He'll have to learn to manage his mysterious counterpart, and help the spirit recover its past so it can go home, all the while battling the daily struggles of being a teenager. Having the ancient spirit of a pharaoh stuck with him is truly a blessing in disguise, he just doesn't realize it yet.





	1. Chapter 1

Joey looks bored out of his mind. Which I guess isn’t surprising, considering he  _ did  _ go bankrupt ten minutes ago. He fiddles with his little top hat piece, rolling it in between his fingers, and occasionally squeezing it as if it were a stress ball. 

Glancing around the room, I notice all the windows have all been left open to allow cooler afternoon air into the stuffy classroom. There’s only one fan, and it’s currently aimed directly where we’re seated. It’s barely able to push it’s recycled air anywhere useful, but it’s better than nothing. For a split second, I feel a pang of sympathy, heaven help the poor kids who sit in the back during the school day. Luckily, this is not our normal classroom. Just the one we use to host the board game club after school. The board game club consists of me, Joey, Tristan, Téa, Duke, the occasional Bakura, the extremely rare and usually disgruntled Kaiba, and basically anyone else we can rope into playing stupid foreign games after school. 

Eventually, Joey gives up abusing his Monopoly piece. He begins to stretch and yawn loudly. He looks around, seeing if that garnered anybody's attention. Of course to no avail, everyone is used to his antics by now. It’s commonplace for him to not play well, and then subsequently make an ass out of himself when he loses early on. It’s always the games that involve money, he can just never manage to stay in long enough to ensure victory. Even winning on a technicality would be better than buying land he can’t afford in the first few minutes, and then attempting to rob the bank or something. 

Finally, as a last resort to get attention, he stands abruptly, knocking his desk, and the board, in the process. He loudly announces “I am bored **!** ” In a booming voice. I jump slightly, startled, but not intensely so. I all but but manage to not disturb the already mangled board and its game pieces. 

And with the quiet atmosphere of the classroom shattered, all hell breaks loose. Téa swats his lower back, nearly missing his ass. He jumps forward to avoid a direct hit, and once again knocks the desks we pushed together to form a flat enough surface to play. 

“Quit your bitching and pipe down! Some of us are trying to strategize.” Téa sounds genuinely annoyed, but when I look at her, she’s smiling. And also unabashedly shuffling the money she’s gained in her hands. Knowing exactly what to say, and what buttons to push seem to be her specialty as of late. But then again, Joey can play that game. Hell any one of us can, but I feel like sitting this round out.

At least for now…

Joey whines in protest as he massages his lower back. Now that I look at the hand that struck him, it becomes evident that she literally hit him with her wad of cash. It’s just adding insult to injury as they say, but for now Joey seems to care only about the injury. Wincing, he continues “You all have got to be cheat’n, there’s no way Téa can win Monopoly every goddamn time.” His unnecessary Brooklyn accent mangles some of the words, but after spending so much time with him, making out what he’s saying no longer feels like a chore, I’ve just become accustomed to it. 

“Maybe if you had spent more money on legitimate assets as opposed to wasting it all on hotels…?” I hedge. My typical strategy is to buy up the railroads and utility spaces. I would rather not call Joey an absolute idiot if I could avoid it, but in this case it’s warranted. He couldn’t play monopoly to save his life. It’s not like he’s a bad gamer, just a bad spender. Joey furrows his eyebrows, growing angrier the more people lay into him. But that doesn’t stop anybody from doing just that.

Duke stretches nonchalantly, clasping his hands behind his neck. “If only you had gotten boardwalk first hm?” He grins and winks at Joey. “Skill has nothing to do with it, all luck baby.” Dukes ponytail moves slightly as the fan knocks warm air into it. He probably sat closest to the fan for that very reason. Over dramatic doesn’t even begin to cover it when it comes to Duke. 

A blush spreads across Joeys face. Seemingly at a loss for words, his mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. I almost feel bad, until I remember he  _ did  _ knock over the board on his way up. This really is just karma rearing its ugly head. 

“Uh oh Joey turned into a tomato!” Tristan sounds off stupidly. As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Joey descendants on him, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him violently. 

“What did you say?” Joey yells. Everyone who isn’t being momentarily throttled laughs. Even Tristan is grinning wildly as he whips back and forth. The sight of Tristan being Joey’s punching bag, and vice versa, is not an uncommon one. It rarely comes to actual blows, so nobody tries to intervene. 

Except for maybe Téa, who quietly mutters “Wait, no, stop” without a lot of enthusiasm. Which in turn, only makes people laugh harder. 

Their voices fade out as I become lost in thought. We’re halfway through May, the air is warm and spirits are high. In a little more than a month, summer vacation will be upon us. The group will need to plan what to do. I think there was some talk of visiting Tokyo for some kind of game championship. But no definite plans. I don’t even know which specific game people were thinking of. Not that it really matters, no matter what game it is, as long as everyone is keen on going, I’ll be down. I’d even sit through a poker tournament if I really had to. God am I bad at bluffing. On second thought, I wouldn't necessarily have to play… 

Once again I am brought back to the present via people yelling. It’s only once I’m paying attention to the situation at hand do I see Duke trying to seperate Tristan and Joey, all while laughing about it. 

“I swear on my life she’s gotta be cheating! No one else ever wins.” Joey howls. Obviously upset about being forced back into his seat.

It takes me a moment before I realize he’s talking about Téa. I glance at her and manage to catch her eye in the process. I raise my eyebrows. She raises hers back, indicated she understood my question. She shakes her head, only barely, and smiles. I’ve known her long enough to understand that signal. She isn’t upset at being accused of cheating; she’s flattered. 

Téa interrupts the rising argument. “Why don’t we settle this the good old fashioned way?” She crosses her arms and leans back in her chair. It creaks as she shifts her weight. Unfortunately everything in this classroom is hopelessly old, I wouldn’t be surprised if our chairs gave out soon. 

I feel an annoyed presence stir in my mind. I take a brief mental note not to mention old things again. I quickly return to trying to defuse the situation before I have to do something I really don’t want to. 

“Janken?” I hedge, honestly hoping that’s what she had in mind, but unfortunately knowing better. 

She quirks her eyebrows, seemingly surprised at hearing the uncertainty in my voice. I curse myself internally for having false hope. “Close but no cigar Yugi.” Her eyes twinkle and I gulp. 

I’m in it for the long haul now.

“We’ll play one game of Monopoly to settle the score. But everyone has to ante up before we play.”

Duke frowns, immediately understanding what she means, “You mean we’re betting on a game of monopoly?” 

“Precisely.” She makes herself busy clearing the board. If anybody wanted to continue the game, they don’t make their voice known. It’s kind of a moot point anyways, seeing that Joey knocked all the pieces around. 

She starts re-sorting the money, one of her rings glints in the afternoon light. I look at it, it’s bright silver, with a wine dark stone resting comfortably in the middle. It doesn't quite match the color of her eyes, although I’m not really sure that’s why one would wear jewelry in the first place. She rarely wears jewelry because of the ban. I wonder why the sudden change today? Honestly it’s kind of astounding how any of us get away with dressing like we do. Makeup, jewelry, piercings, altered hair, all of it is forbidden in school. But the majority of the faculty gave up trying to enforce that rule a long time ago. 

She continues speaking and I return my attention. “We’ll all bet whatever we care to lose, and allow this game to decide who really is the best at Monopoly.” She pretends to glare at Joey, while continuing. “Contrary to popular belief, I know I’ve lost at least a few times, so it’s unlikely I’m actually cheating.”

Joey laughs nervously, “Oh come on, you know I didn’t mean it Téa. It was just a little bit of fun.” I try to stifle my giggles. If I’ve ever seen a clearer deer in the headlights expression, I certainly don’t recall. I’m not very good at gambling or betting, but neither is Joey. And I know Téa is counting on that. 

She smiles and nods politely. “Oh I know, but this is just a bit of fun too.” She gives her best devilish smile and turns to tristan, gesturing for him to cut the “deck” of cash in her hands. It’s for show, but it does feel like we’re actually starting a game of poker. Tristan laughs at the request, but humors her nonetheless. 

“What exactly are we betting?” I ask while unconsciously rubbing my hands together. 

A familiar voice sounds off in my head. 

_ “That could be perceived as a tell. I’d recommend cutting it out.” _

I hesitate before indulging him in a conversation. _ “I expected you to make an appearance sooner.”  _ I grumble internally. “ _ I really could have used you earlier when trying to buy Reading Railroad from Duke.”  _ I’m not prone to hubris, but admitting I need his expertise is, admittedly, a little embarrassing. I’d like to at least play a game of Monopoly on my own. 

No matter. I turn my attention back to the situation at hand, but almost instantly get sidetracked again. 

_ “I could give you a few pointers on lying, if you want.” _

My eyebrows shoot up involuntarily in response to his offer.  _ “You mean pointers on gambling, right?” _

_ “That’s what I said.” _

“It’s your ante Yugi, what are you betting?” Joey asks begrudgingly.

I look at him blankly, before realizing I probably missed some explanation of what's going on. I continue to play with my hands nervously, until I realize what… my other self said. I quickly fold and place them neatly on the desk in front of me before acknowledging Joeys question.

I hear a grunt of approval in my head, and try my best not to smile physically in response. 

“What do we ante? And what exactly are we betting?” 

Tristan slides his arm around my shoulders, I gasp quietly as he feigns putting me in a literal chokehold. It’s light enough to do no actual damage to my windpipe, but apparently funny enough to send everyone spiraling into fits of laughter.

Struggling is useless in this case so I just wait for the impending noogie. He gives me a light one, just tousling my hair in the process. “Ante is 555 Yen, 1,667 more if you’re playing for keeps.” Tristan says without releasing his hold. From the laughter around me, I can tell everyone is enjoying this just as much as he is. 

I ponder his answer for a moment, not even bothering to struggle. I guess I’m used to being man handled by my friends for the sake of comedy.

“So, if I wanted to sit this one out, I could keep my money?” I ask innocently. 

_ “Absolutely not.” _

Téa responds. “Of course, we won’t force you to play. But you do have a great shot at winning good money. Especially considering we can easily get Joey out in the first five minutes.” Tristan's arm blocks my view, but I can definitely hear the smile in her voice.

“Hey!” Joey interjects. While he gets on her case, I tap Tristan's arm. A friendly reminder that he can let me go. Once he realizes what I’m doing, he immediately releases me. “Sorry.” He mutters, not trying to interrupt Joey.

_ “You’re so small, it’s comical really.” _

I rub my neck, attempting to regain a bit of the feeling I lost.  _ “I’m choosing to interpret that as a compliment.” _

_ “Do what you will.” _

Eventually things settle down and everyone piles their money up, Téa places it to the side for safekeeping. The excitement is near tangible. It makes sense, between the five of us, there’s around 11,178 yen on the line. I’m beginning to understand why Téa chose to have the showdown in this fashion; playing with consequence makes things more exhilarating.

_ “Want help?”  _ I can’t physically see him, but somehow I just  _ know _ he’s smirking.

_ “Would it be cheating if you stepped in for me?” _

_ “Well you do refer to me as, your other self. So technically no.” _

_ “I only do that because you’ve never told me your name.” _

_ “I only recently remembered... It’s Atem.” _

Oh? This is news to me. 

I glance around the makeshift table and see the determination on everyone's faces. I’d feel bad if my other- no, Atem, crushed them completely. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I can sense slight disappointment as he realizes I don’t have much intention of handing over the reigns. His dissatisfaction washes over me, a negative consequence of having another person inhabit my body; I feel his emotions too.

Fifteen minutes pass and I’m back to the drawing board. Things have started to heat up, and I’m forced to reconsider my original decision. Would it really be that bad if Atem stepped in for a bit…? 

I sigh internally, already knowing what I want to do. 

I quickly pull myself out, and push Atem in. The sudden switch makes him gasp. As he settles into my body, it takes him a moment to get his bearings, but once he does, he physically furrows his eyebrows. Which concerns me for a moment, but I guess if anyone is looking my way they’ll probably just think I’m concentrating on the game or something.

_ “I didn’t think you wanted me to play?”  _ I can tell yet again that he’s smirking. But he’s gotten a good enough handle on my body to not do it physically. 

I’ve only known him for a short time, but I can already tell he has a bit of an ego. Not as big as some people I know, but big enough to be daunting at times.

I roll my eyes in response to his question, but then remember I don’t have eyes to roll. He still gets the point.

_ “Well you  _ **_did_ ** _ say you could give me some pointers. I’ll just consider this an educational experience.” _

I can feel his unspoken approval. 

It’s only silent in our head for a moment before I start speaking again.  _ “Hey... Atem?” _ I hesitantly try out his new name. 

_ “Yes?”  _

_ “Just promise me you won’t completely annihilate them. At least give them a little hope of winning.” _

I can sense him grinning devilishly as he responds.  _ “Oh but of course.”  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn’t obvious I’ve really only seen the abridged show, so a lot of the characterization will revolve around that. Some will of course, stay true to the original show.  
> Also this is set in modern times, because if I try to remember what life was like back in the late 90’s and/or early 2000’s I’ll just give myself a headache lmao.  
> sorry this is stupid and bad, ive never published a fanfic before uhhh


	2. Chapter 2

We ended up playing until dusk. I exit the building, looking over my shoulder only to wave goodbye to my friends, before turning back and heading in the general direction of home. The sun glows dimly, turning domino city into an ethereal being, as opposed to just a bunch of grey buildings standing too close to one another. The orange sunlight bounces around reflective surfaces and makes certain buildings look like they’re sprouting golden crystals of pure light. Some of the light reflects directly into my eyes, making it difficult to see. So much so, I don’t realize Atem is standing next to me until he clears his throat. 

I jump slightly and come to a halt. I glance over at him, squinting as I do. I can barely make him out what with the blinding sun surrounding us. But sure enough, he’s there. 

It briefly dawns on me that if I hadn’t stopped, it would be as if we were actually walking side by side. That would mark the closest our relationship has gotten to relatively normal over the course of the past week or so. 

“Sorry Aibou. I didn't mean to startle you.” I’d rather not stop and stare in the middle of the street. I need to be mindful that nobody else can see him, and I’d probably just look like a nut if I chose to have a conversation here. I look down, and continue walking, blatantly ignoring him momentarily. He almost immediately catches on and follows suit. I look around discreetly, trying to make sure nobody is close enough to see my lips moving. Once I decide we’re good, I respond.

“You promised to  _ not _ destroy them.” I mutter through gritted teeth. It probably seems like I’m angry, I’m not really, but if I talk normally it’d look bad.

“It could have gone a lot worse.” He mutters. I’m the only one who has to be mindful of my volume, so I’m not quite sure why he’s doing it. However I choose not to question it. 

“I didn’t even get to play a penalty round.” He whines.

I glance at him to see if he’s seriously complaining. He gives me a facetious smile, red eyes twinkling playfully. “Yeah, let’s keep it that way in the club.” I murmur. I turn my attention back to the road ahead of me. His penalty games usually end with someone maimed or dead. Admittedly there have been times when such games were necessary, but killing my friends off for fun is where I draw the line. 

I guess that shows how screwed my priorities are. I damn near stood by and did nothing while Atem handled a couple of guys who had been harassing me about a week ago. I only intervened out of fear of causing a commotion, and ultimately getting caught. 

Granted Atem didn’t actually kill them, nor did he injure them too badly. But sharing a body allows me to catch glimpses into his mind. When I stopped thinking, allowing his thoughts and feelings to wash over me, I could hear his strategies while playing. I could also feel his emotions. All he felt was rage. Not the passionate fiery type that fuels a call to action. Nor the type that values a chance to stand up to injustice. It was a rage that was cold, and dark; void of coherent thought, and it certainly held no room for reason.

He  _ wanted  _ to kill them. 

If I hadn’t wrangled my body back, the entire situation could have played out differently. Everyone escaped the ordeal with their lives,  _ and  _ extremities. But I could tell that outcome was not what Atem had in mind going into the situation.

If memory serves me correctly, that was the night Atem and I had a serious talk about what he was, and wasn’t, allowed to do while inhabiting my body. When I first solved the millenium puzzle, and he subsequently showed up, we had a brief conversation about how and why he was my new roomate. But neither of us had a enough information to really understand the situation. So a lot of things went unstated, and no ground rules had been set at the time. 

Now that Atem has uncovered all his memories, I can clearly see what kind of person he was, and what kind of person he continues to be. Granted he’s not this all-powerful-evil-entity ™ as I originally thought. He was certainly a human in his past. But he’s not completely innocent either; he’s quite dangerous. And I have no real way of distancing myself from him. So I kind of just have to deal with the consequences his actions land us with. 

I ponder the new information I’ve received. Starting with my moral compass: When he’s involved, what am I ok with? Evidently beating up a couple of assholes is ok. Dismembering them is not. Cheating in a game of monopoly with my friends is ok. Sending them to the shadow realm is not… 

We wind up at the game shop in record time. It takes me a moment to recall how I had got here. I was so lost in thought the entire way, I guess I didn’t realize I was walking anywhere in particular. And as it turns out, I’m not the only one to notice my total lack of awareness. 

“You’d be a dead man if someone wanted to sneak up on you, seeing as you can’t pay attention to your surroundings very well.” I try not to shudder at those words. There’s no inherent threat in them. And no doubt he is slightly correct. I could have stupidly tripped or something. Maybe that was just him expressing concern in a really roundabout way? I have no clue. 

“Can you blame me? I’ve had a lot to think about as of late.” He grunts in response. I sigh, and try to open the door to the shop. It rattles around in my hand for a moment, but doesn’t turn completely.

It’s locked. 

I step back and assess the situation. It  _ is  _ around closing time, but grandpa wouldn't just lock me out. I sigh and reach for my bag. I fish around for a only a brief moment before retrieving the key I’m looking for. I pull it out, and proceed to unlock the door. I have to rattle it around a few times before it finally clicks. I open the door and enter the familiar space. Looking around, I notice all the lights are off. I feel the wall next to me, trying to find the switch to the main light. I finally feel it and flick it on, the lighting is only momentarily blinding contrast with the darkness outside. I shuffle over to the front counter, the wooden floor creaks under my weight. 

It takes me a moment before I notice a white slip of paper on the front counter. I pick it up, turning it around so I can read it. 

‘Yugi, I closed early to go grocery shopping. Please hold down the fort!’

I crumple up the note and shove it into my pocket. I offered yesterday to go grocery shopping tonight, and he graciously accepted. But I guess even he can’t stay cooped up in here forever. I can’t say I blame him. It does get rather lonely at times.

I hear footsteps behind me, I glance over my shoulder to see Atem, standing awkwardly. He looks like he’s taking inventory of the shelves. I think he’s just giving me privacy to read the note and be grumpy for a moment. I mean, he could just retreat into his soul room thing, if he wanted.  But that place sucks. It’s so big, and empty, and  _ boring _ . I’d personally hate to spend longer then I had to in there. 

I feel a pang of sympathy as it dawns on me. We’ve been in similar situations for so long. Alone in these spaces, nobody to talk with. In retrospect it makes sense why he’s been electing to hang out with me as of late. I originally thought he just needed a host body, and I was but a minor inconvenience in his quest for once again being able to roam freely. But, maybe I was wrong for jumping to that conclusion. He’s been a little cruel in the past, but really only to people he believed deserved it. With me and my friends he’s done his best to be respectful, (granted reluctantly.) Plus he’s never really taken my body without permission. And I can’t sense his intent on wanting to do anything like that in the future...

I suppose it’s true. We’re alone, in vastly different ways, but we’re alone together.

I guess our similarities run deeper than just our appearances. 

I decide to get ready for bed. I know it’s a little early, but I had a math test earlier, and I’d rather not think about anything for the time being. I turn to head upstairs when he stops me halfway up. “Aren’t you going to eat dinner first?” He asks. I turn to look at him. He’s standing at the bottom of the stairs, eyebrows raised, and looking at me expectantly. I glance away to avoid his intent gaze. 

“I’m not hungry” I lie. I chance looking at him, wanting to gauge his reaction. It’s evident he didn’t buy it. 

“You know it’s bad for you to skip meals. What’ll I do if you pass out?” 

I turn and head back up the stairs. “I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” I can understand his concern for my body in a way. If I get fucked over because of bad nutritional habits, so does he. But I think I’m allowed to decide if I just don’t feel like eating one night. It’s really not that big of a deal.

I shrug off any negative thoughts on the subject. I continue up the stairs and reach the top, turning to head towards the bathroom when all of a sudden he appears directly in front of me. 

“I try to be a reasonable guest. But this is the third time this week. Compromises have to made for us to live harmoniously.” If he were on the physical plane and not the spiritual one, we’d probably be touching. As threatening as his stance is, hovering over me, stern look in his face and arms crossed, he’s really just commanding me to make a sandwich. I’m too tired to be effectively threatened, but I’m also too tired to put up a fight. I shake my head, and grumble under my breath as I head back downstairs.

“We can’t make a habit out of this. You’re a guest in my body. You’re free to leave if you hate it so much.” I take the stairs slowly. I’m in no hurry to make it to the kitchen. 

“You know that isn’t true.” He sighs out of exasperation. “I have no clue how to leave, and neither do you. Besides, if you kick the bucket so do I, and I’m not willing to take any chances.” 

I ignore his comment as I hop down the last two stairs and land with a soft thud. He breaks character and chuckles before continuing with whatever he was saying. 

“In my time we wouldn’t take such things for granted. Your food doesn’t spoil, and you can have it whenever you want. You have the ability to take care of yourself in a way your ancestors didn’t. Why take that for granted?” I wince at the harsh truth in his words. I can hear the distaste in his voice, but also the honest curiosity. Why would I take it for granted? 

I guess as of late I’ve been skipping meals just because I didn’t feel like going through the motions. And maybe not eating isn’t a big deal to me, but I keep forgetting we’ve lived very different lives. I guess I can understand where he would take offense to it.

“You sound like a parent.” I point out as I make my way into the kitchen, and open the fridge. He doesn’t bother responding, mainly because he doesn’t have to. He’s gotten his way. I don’t even need to look at him to tell he’s smirking. Silence envelops the room as I search for something that looks remotely interesting. 

“Shame.” He says, effectively breaking said silence. I turn to look at him.

“What?” I ask. He steps forward, and I try to step back, but only manage to knock my head against the door. I literally cannot move any further back. He peeks into the fridge, easily gazing at it over my head. 

“If you wanted something from up there.” He points to the top shelf. “You wouldn’t be able to reach it. Such a waste.” 

He backs away, laughing like a madman as I try to swat at him. We’re both well aware my punches won’t connect, but it won’t stop me from aiming directly for his shoulder.  

“I’m not that short!” I whine as he laughs even harder. 

I almost immediately tire from hollering and chasing him around the kitchen. I close the door, and elect to grab an orange from the fruit basket on the counter. I can tell he isn’t too happy with my choice. But I honestly just want to go to bed. 

I peel and eat it on my way upstairs, when I head into the bathroom to get ready for bed, I dispose of it in the bin that sits next to the sink. Hopefully it won’t attract any bugs. 

I finish my nightly routine and proceed into my bedroom. I quickly strip to my boxers, not even bothering to put my uniform away, and dive into bed. 

I nestle in, and I can feel him retreat back into my mind. 

_ “Hey Atem?”  _ I think. Too tired to bother opening my mouth. 

_ “Yes?”  _

_ “Thanks, for forcing me to eat. And I guess for also helping me win at Monopoly.” _

_ “Of course Aibou. Think of it as repayment for not allowing me to kill those imbeciles the other day. It would have gotten messy very quickly, and I take it your law enforcement would not have appreciated that.” _

That is definitely the understatement of the year. Law enforcement would have pummeled us. 

_ “I’ll lay off on skipping meals if you lay off on wanting to murder my peers.” _

_ “Deal.” _

It’s silent for only a moment before he asks,  _ “Aibou, why didn’t you accept the money I won earlier?”  _

_ “It didn’t feel right.”  _ I reply lazily. My eyes close as I start to drift off.  _ “Besides, I didn’t want it anyway. I just wanted to have fun and…” _ I yawn.  _ “Play with my friends.”  _

_ “You don’t like playing for keeps?” _

_ “No, not really.” _

_ “Hm.” _

If he said something after that, I didn’t hear it. The calming embrace of sleep had already claimed me. 


End file.
